(Associated Press/NOLA.com)
BP’s settlement deal with thousands of victims of the 2010 Gulf oil spill is a major step toward putting the worst oil spill in U.S. history behind it. BP says it will not have to increase the $37.2 billion it has set aside to pay for the spill, and analysts say the settlement could allow BP to quickly resolve outstanding claims by states and the federal government.
If approved by a federal court in New Orleans, Friday’s deal would settle lawsuits filed by some 100,000 individuals and businesses affected by the spill. They include fishermen who lost work, cleanup workers who got sick and others who claimed harm from the oil giant’s April 20, 2010, disaster.
The accident destroyed a drilling rig called the Deepwater Horizon, killed 11 workers, spilled an estimated 200 million gallons of oil and disrupted thousands of Gulf Coast lives. The spill soiled sensitive tidal estuaries and beaches, killed wildlife and closed vast areas of the Gulf to commercial fishing. (More at NOLA.com)
OTHER HEADLINES:
- Calling Attention To Strides In Treating County Inmates Mental Problems (KUHF Public Radio)
- Project Victory Gives Veterans Healing, Hope (KPRC 2 News)
- Mosquito Season Comes Early This Year (KTRK 13 News)
- Mayor Says City Has No Legal Basis to Stop Ashby High Rise (KTRK 13 News)
- Plantation Restoration Will Offer a Glimpse Into the Lives of Slaves (Houston Chronicle)
- Storms Demolish Small Towns in Ind., Ky.; 37 Dead (KTRK 13 News)
OPINIONS ON THE NEWS:
- Loren Steffy: Uncharted Legal Territory for BP Ahead (Houston Chronicle)
The complex court proceeding BP faces as early as Monday is unlike anything it – or most other companies – has faced before…. Bigger than the litigation that followed the Exxon Valdez spill, and it’s more unwieldy in many ways than even the multistate litigation with tobacco companies more than a decade ago. - Bill King: We’re Taking Baby Steps on Hurricane Protection (Houston Chronicle)
With an obvious threat and a near miss like Hurricane Ike, you might assume that our region has been busily at work preparing for the next storm. Actually, not so much.